Arduino Boards Are Getting Cuter (and Cheaper)

Arduino today unveiled four new adorable boards coming out in mid-June. The new Arduino Nano boards come in a small form factor, fit for makers’ smallest projects, and start at just $9.90.

Arduino already sells the Nano (ATmega328 microcontroller) for $22. Now, it’s expanding its line of preciously small 18x45mm boards with more processing power and lower energy consumption.

Today’s arrivals consist of four boards: Arduino Nano Every, for your “everyday” projects, as the firm put it, Arduino Nano 33 IoT, for Internet of Things projects, naturally, Arduino Nano 33 BLE, for Bluetooth connectivity, and Arduino Nano BLE Sense, which includes many on-board sensors. At $9.90, the Nano Every will become the lowest-priced board in Arduino’s lineup.

Arduino says these new boards are great for prototyping compact projects. While not expected to ship until next month, Arduino is already accepting pre-orders here.

Arduino Nano Specs

Nano Every

Nano 33 IoT

Nano 33 BLE

Nano 33 BLE Sense

Nano

Clock Speed

20 MHz

48 MHz

64 MHz

64 MHz

16 MHz

Flash

48KB

256KB

1MB

1MB

32KB (2KB used by bootloader)

RAM

6KB

32KB

256KB

256KB

2KB

Price

$9.90 / $11.90 with headers

$18 / $20 with headers

$19 / $21 with headers

$29.50 / $31.50 with headers

$22

Arduino Nano Every ($9.90, $11.90 with headers)

The Nano Every uses the ATMega4809 microcontroller. You can use it in breadboards as you mount pin header or, alternatively, solder it directly onto a PCB.

It features Arm’s Cortex M0+ processor, which Arm says is its most energy-efficient processor. In the Nano Every, it serves as a “high-performance USB-to-serial converter that could re-programmed by skilled users to achieve even more,” according to Arduino.

Arduino Nano 33 IoT ($18)

The Nano 33 IoT is a bit more advanced and costs a little more at $18. Targeting the growing world of IoT, it’s also compatible with Arduino IoT Cloud.

But for that extra change you get an Arm Cortex-M0+ processor-based ATSAMD21 microcontroller, a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth module based on Espressif ESP32, a 6-axis IMU (for measuring angular rate and force), and a crypto chip for security, which is IoT’s biggest concern.

Like the Nano Every, it can be used in a breadboard or as an SMT module.

Arduino Nano 33 BLE and 33 BLE Sense ($19 - $31.50)

The Bluetooth baby Arduino boards step processing power up to an Arm Cortex-M4F processor, which promises higher performance than the Cortex-M0. They’re also said to have lower power consumption than the other boards here.

The Nano 33 BLE is meant for projects requiring short-range Bluetooth and has reduced power consumption compared to the other boards. Think wearables and projects that use motion sensing and automation.

Both the Nano BLE and BLE Sense have 9-axis IMUs. However, the BLE Sense adds temperature, pressure, humidity, light, color and gesture sensors.

The Other Nano

While Arduino’s new Nano boards prepare to ship, make sure you don’t get them confused with the Nvidia Jetson Nano. That board is built for artificial intelligence projects. And with measurements of 95.3 x 76.2mm, it’s not quite as nano as these Arduinos.

Scharon Harding is a Senior Editor at Tom's Hardware. She has a special affinity for monitors, laptops and virtual reality. Previously, Scharon covered business technology, including hardware, software, cyber security, cloud and other IT happenings, at Channelnomics, with bylines at CRN UK.